CHAPTER 3 Design Loads for Residential Buildings 3.1 General Loads are a primary consideration in any building design because they define the nature and magnitude of hazards or external forces that a building must resist to provide reasonable performance (i.e., safety and serviceability) throughout the structure’s useful life. The anticipated loads are influenced by a building’s intended use (occupancy and function), configuration (size and shape), and location (climate and site conditions). Ultimately, the type and magnitude of design loads affect critical decisions such as material selection, construction details, and architectural configuration. Thus, to optimize the value (i.e., performance versus economy) of the finished product, it is essential to apply design loads realistically. While the buildings considered in this guide are primarily single-family detached and attached dwellings, the principles and concepts related to building loads also apply to other similar types of construction, such as low-rise apartment buildings. In general, the design loads recommended in this guide are based on applicable provisions of the ASCE 7 standard–Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE, 1999). The ASCE 7 standard represents an acceptable practice for building loads in the United States and is recognized in virtually all U.S. building codes. For this reason, the reader is encouraged to become familiar with the provisions, commentary, and technical references contained in the ASCE 7 standard. In general, the structural design of housing has not been treated as a unique engineering discipline or subjected to a special effort to develop better, more efficient design practices. Therefore, this part of the guide focuses on those aspects of ASCE 7 and other technical resources that are particularly relevant to the determination of design loads for residential structures. The guide provides supplemental design assistance to address aspects of residential construction where current practice is either silent or in need of improvement. The guide’s Residential Structural Design Guide 3-1 Chapter 3 – Design Loads for Residential Buildings methods for determining design loads are complete yet tailored to typical residential conditions. As with any design function, the designer must ultimately understand and approve the loads for a given project as well as the overall design methodology, including all its inherent strengths and weaknesses. Since building codes tend to vary in their treatment of design loads the designer should, as a matter of due diligence, identify variances from both local accepted practice and the applicable building code relative to design loads as presented in this guide, even though the variances may be considered technically sound. Complete design of a home typically requires the evaluation of several different types of materials as in Chapters 4 through 7. Some material specifications use the allowable stress design (ASD) approach while others use load and resistance factor design (LRFD). Chapter 4 uses the LRFD method for concrete design and the ASD method for masonry design. For wood design, Chapters 5, 6, and 7 use ASD. Therefore, for a single project, it may be necessary to determine loads in accordance with both design formats. This chapter provides load combinations intended for each method. The determination of individual nominal loads is essentially unaffected. Special loads such as flood loads, ice loads, and rain loads are not addressed herein. The reader is referred to the ASCE 7 standard and applicable building code provisions regarding special loads. 3.2 Load Combinations The load combinations in Table 3.1 are recommended for use with design specifications based on allowable stress design (ASD) and load and resistance factor design (LRFD). Load combinations provide the basic set of building load conditions that should be considered by the designer. They establish the proportioning of multiple transient loads that may assume point-in-time values when the load of interest attains its extreme design value. Load combinations are intended as a guide to the designer, who should exercise judgment in any particular application. The load combinations in Table 3.1 are appropriate for use with the design loads determined in accordance with this chapter. The principle used to proportion loads is a recognition that when one load attains its maximum life-time value, the other loads assume arbitrary point-in- time values associated with the structure’s normal or sustained loading conditions. The advent of LRFD has drawn greater attention to this principle (Ellingwood et al., 1982; Galambos et al., 1982). The proportioning of loads in this chapter for allowable stress design (ASD) is consistent with and normalized to the proportioning of loads used in newer LRFD load combinations. However, this manner of proportioning ASD loads has seen only limited use in current code- recognized documents (AF&PA, 1996) and has yet to be explicitly recognized in design load specifications such as ASCE 7. ASD load combinations found in building codes have typically included some degree of proportioning (i.e., D + W + 1/2S) and have usually made allowance for a special reduction for multiple transient loads. Some earlier codes have also permitted allowable material stress increases for load combinations involving wind and earthquake loads. None of these adjustments for ASD load combinations is recommended for use with Table 3.1 since the load proportioning is considered sufficient. 3-2 Residential Structural Design Guide Chapter 3 – Design Loads for Residential Buildings It should also be noted that the wind load factor of 1.5 in Table 3.1 used for load and resistant factor design is consistent with traditional wind design practice (ASD and LRFD) and has proven adequate in hurricane-prone environments when buildings are properly designed and constructed. The 1.5 factor is equivalent to the earlier use of a 1.3 wind load factor in that the newer wind load provisions of ASCE 7-98 include separate consideration of wind directionality by adjusting wind loads by an explicit wind directionality factor, KD, of 0.85. Since the wind load factor of 1.3 included this effect, it must be adjusted to 1.5 in compensation for adjusting the design wind load instead (i.e., 1.5/1.3 = 0.85). The 1.5 factor may be considered conservative relative to traditional design practice in nonhurricane-prone wind regions as indicated in the calibration of the LRFD load factors to historic ASD design practice (Ellingwood et al., 1982; Galambos et al., 1982). In addition, newer design wind speeds for hurricane-prone areas account for variation in the extreme (i.e., long return period) wind probability that occurs in hurricane hazard areas. Thus, the return period of the design wind speeds along the hurricane-prone coast varies from roughly a 70- to 100-year return period on the wind map in the 1998 edition of ASCE 7 (i.e., not a traditional 50-year return period wind speed used for the remainder of the United States). The latest wind design provisions of ASCE 7 include many advances in the state of the art, but the ASCE commentary does not clearly describe the condition mentioned above in support of an increased wind load factor of 1.6 (ASCE, 1999). Given that the new standard will likely be referenced in future building codes, the designer may eventually be required to use a higher wind load factor for LRFD than that shown in Table 3.1. The above discussion is intended to help the designer understand the recent departure from past successful design experience and remain cognizant of its potential future impact to building design. The load combinations in Table 3.1 are simplified and tailored to specific application in residential construction and the design of typical components and systems in a home. These or similar load combinations are often used in practice as short-cuts to those load combinations that govern the design result. This guide makes effective use of the short-cuts and demonstrates them in the examples provided later in the chapter. The short-cuts are intended only for the design of residential light-frame construction. Residential Structural Design Guide 3-3 Chapter 3 – Design Loads for Residential Buildings Typical Load Combinations Used for the Design of TABLE 3.1 Components and Systems1 Component or System ASD Load Combinations LRFD Load Combinations D + H 1.2D + 1.6H Foundation wall 2 2 D + H + L + 0.3(Lr + S) 1.2D + 1.6H + 1.6L + 0.5(Lr + S) (gravity and soil lateral loads) 2 2 D + H + (Lr or S) + 0.3L 1.2D + 1.6H + 1.6(Lr or S) + 0.5L Headers, girders, joists, interior load- D + L2 + 0.3 (L or S) 1.2D + 1.6L2 + 0.5 (L or S) bearing walls and columns, footings r r D + (L or S) + 0.3 L2 1.2D + 1.6(L or S) + 0.5 L2 (gravity loads) r r Exterior load-bearing walls and Same as immediately above plus Same as immediately above plus columns (gravity and transverse D + W 1.2D + 1.5W lateral load) 3 D + 0.7E + 0.5L2 + 0.2S4 1.2D + 1.0E + 0.5L2 + 0.2S4 Roof rafters, trusses, and beams; roof D + (Lr or S) 1.2D + 1.6(Lr or S) 5 5 and wall sheathing (gravity and wind 0.6D + Wu 0.9D + 1.5Wu loads) D + W 1.2D + 1.5W Floor diaphragms and shear walls (in-plane lateral and overturning 0.6D + (W or 0.7E) 0.9D + (1.5W or 1.0E) loads) 6 Notes: 1The load combinations and factors are intended to apply to nominal design loads defined as follows: D = estimated mean dead weight of the construction; H = design lateral pressure for soil condition/type; L = design floor live load; Lr = maximum roof live load anticipated from construction/maintenance; W = design wind load; S = design roof snow load; and E = design earthquake load.